Cádiz, << kuh DIHZ or KAY dihz >> (pop. 114,244), is a major port city in southern Spain. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean, 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Gibraltar. Cádiz has long been Spain’s chief naval station, and ships of many nations use its harbor. The city is the capital of Cádiz province.
The Phoenicians founded Cádiz in 1130 B.C., and many experts believe it to be the oldest city in Europe. The settlement prospered and became one of the great outposts of Phoenician power. About 550 B.C., Cádiz found itself threatened by local Iberian tribes and called on Carthage for help. Carthage sent forces to help Cádiz, but the Carthaginians captured the city. The Romans seized Cádiz from the Carthaginians in 205 B.C. Hundreds of years later, the city became a Moorish stronghold.
In 1262, King Alfonso X of Castile and Leon drove the Moors out of Cádiz. Christopher Columbus sailed from Cádiz in 1493 on his second voyage to America. During the next 300 years, when Spain had a worldwide empire, the riches of the American colonies poured into Cádiz. It became a wealthy, cosmopolitan (worldly) city. Spain’s first constitution was drafted in Cádiz in 1812.
